Bathing cap



July 22, 1930. Y T. J. HOWLAND BATHING CAP Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ifiillltllvltlllllflllll abiotwoqs July 22, 1930.

T. J. HOWLAND BATHING CAP Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedJuly 22, 1930 UNITED STATES THOMAS J. ROWLAND, OF LONG BRANCH, NEWJERSEY BATHING CAP Application filed December 2, 1929. Serial No.411,104.

This invention relates to bathing caps and provides for a ca which formsa watertight seal along its e ge and prevents moisture from penetratingwithin the interior of the cap.

A great variety of methods have been proposed for rendering bathing capswatertight but none of them have proved very satisfactory as iswitnessed by the fact that bathing caps at present on the market usuallycon- 1 sist of a simple rubber cap. A simple rubber cap is far fromsatisfactory and moisture generally seeps in at the edge of the caprendering the cap totally ineffective for the purpose for which it isused.

The present invention provides a bathing cap which is adapted.to form awatertight seal along the edge of the cap. This is accomplished withoutexcessive tightening at the edge portion which would bind the head andcause discomfort to the wearer.

A plurality of cups or air pockets are pro vided aroundthe inside edgeof the cap. These are formed by ribs projecting from the cap towardtheinside and adapted to contact with the head of the wearer of the cap.The hollows or cups between the ribs tend to increase the effectivenessof the seal due to the suction effect of these cups which act as tovacuum cups.

The ribs' which are in close engagement with the skin along the ed e ofthe cap resent a series of sealing sur aces separate by air pockets. Theingress of water or moisas ture is prevented therefore by a series ofeffective barriers. A I

The elasticity of the material composing the cap may be taken advantageof to press the ribs into close engagement with the skin '40 and, ifdesired, a chin band ma .be used.

A bathingcap having a series of sealing surfaces separated by airpockets extending around the inside ofthe edge is disclosed in my priorPatent No. 1,746,477, granted Feb.

' The present invention-differs from my aforesaid application in thatthe cups or air pockets are ormed in aplurality of groups or rows spacedwith respect to one another,

whereby a channel or channels will be formed I places along the edge ofthe cap in order to form the most effective water seal commensurate withthe comfort of the wearer. As ones forehead is substantially regular, anordinary bathing cap will make a substantially watertight seal at thispoint without the useof the vacuum cups or air pockets. The cups orpockets may, therefore, be quite shallow or even non-existent at thispoint of the cap. On the other hand, that portion of the head beneaththe ears, that is, where the rear portion of the jaw joins the head, isquite irregular and the cups or air pockets should be deepest at thesepoints. Other portions of the head vary in regularity of contour betweenthese extremes and the depths of the cups or pockets will, of course,vary accordingly.

For an example of a bathing cap embodying my invention reference is madeto the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectionalview through the bathing cap;

Fig. 2 is across section taken through the rim of the cap;

Fig; 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view through-the rim of the cap;

Fig. 4 is a face view of a portion of the inside of the rim of the cap;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a modification;

Figs. 6 to 10are views of further modifications, and

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view through the edge of a bathing shoeshowing a series of vacuum cups or pockets of varying depth arrangedtherealong.

The bathing cap 10 comprises a main portion 11 of elastic material. Thismain portion is shaped to fit the general contour of the head.

Along the inside edge of this main portion 11 is attached a bandcomprising-a series of crossed ribs 12 forming hollows or cups 13therebetween. In Fig. 4 a section of this band of crossed ribs isillustrated.

The hollows or cups 13 are shown as diamond sha ed and while thisparticular form has been ound effective, other forms can be used withgood results, e. g., the hollows or cups 13 may be round or square, oroval shaped etc.

The elasticity of the material composing the main portion 11 of the capwill tend to press the crossed ribs 12 into close engagement with theskin and the cups 13 by their suction eifect will tend to maintain thisen gagement.

The ribs 12 should have suflicient rigidity so that when stretched theywill not upset and destroy the vacuum effect of the cups. The rigidityof the ribs 12 depends on the material of which they are formed, theirwidth and the depth of the cups, The ribs are more I effective assealing surfaces if they are narrow as shown in Fig. 4, but theinvention is not' limited to this form and the width of the ribs 12 neednot be uniform.

As shown in the drawings the band of crossed ribs 12 consists of aseparate strip 14 attached to the edge of the main portion 11 in someconvenient manner, but it is evident that the crossed ribs 12 might beformed directly in the main portion 11. i

The suction effect of the cups 13 tends to maintain the en gement of theedge of the cap with the skin and will prevent the cap from being pulledoff the head thus eliminating the necessity of a chin band. A chin band15, however, may be attached to the outer edge of the main portion 11 toincrease the pressure along the edge of the cap.

As shown in the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 and 4, the cups 13 arearranged in two groups which are spaced with respect to each other sothat a' horizontal channel 16 is formed between the respective groups.This channel 16 forms a trap for any water which might find its way passthe lower group of cups and further ensures a watertight seal betweenthe rim of the cap and the head of the wearer under the most tryingconditions. For example, it has been found that a cap having the rows ofcups or air pockets separated by one or more channels 16 will beeffectively sealed against the entrance of wa- 'ter when falling uponthe face, racing, diving and buifeting waves. The lower line of cups orpockets acts as a defense to break the force of the blow while thesecond or succeeding rows simply have to take care of a dead bodyofwater.

In Fig. 5 the cups or air pockets 13 are di- 4 by ri s projectin videdinto three grou 5 instead of two, and a pair of channels 16 therebyformed.

Inasmuch as the contour of ones head is more or less irregular, thevacuum cups or pockets 13 are made of varying depth and are so arrangedthat the deepest ones will fit into the more prominent indentations ofthe head. For instance, the head has a substantial indentation on eachside just below the ears where the rear portion of the jaw joins thehead. The cap at the places which overlie these portions of the head,indicated at 17 in the drawings, is, therefore, provided with cups orpockets 13 which are deeper than those at 18 which overlie the foreheadwhere a watertight seal may be made with very shallow cups or pockets.Likewise, the cups opposite the portions of the head just forward andbackward of the ears should be of substantial depth but need not be asdeep as those opposite the indentations beneath the ears. At the rear ofthe cap, where it overlies the nape of the neck, the cups should bedeeper than those which overlie the-forehead, but need not be as deep asthe cups on the side of the cap where it overlies those portions of thehead adjacent the ears.

In Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive I have shown various modifications of theribs in which the inner edge is formed with a reduced contact surface.Reducing the surface of contact between the rib and the body of thewearer further localizes the pressure and. gives a more effective seal.

In Fig. 11 I have shown a bathing shoe 19 havin a band of vacuum cups orpockets 13 o varying depth applied-to the inside of the upper edgethereo and in which the cups or pockets which overlie those portions ofthe foot in the region of the ankle are considerably deeper than thoseat the front and back of the upper edge. This effectively keeps not onlywater, but also sand, gravel,

mud, etc., from getting into the shoe.

I claim:

1. A bathing cap adapted to be used upon the head of the wearercomprising a main body portion of elastic material having at least aportion of its edge provided with a row of cups or air pockets, 9.second row of cu s or air pockets inwardly spaced from saidfirst-mentioned row, and with said firstmentioned row, forming a grooveto trap any substances which should penetrate the outer row of cups.

2. An article of bathing apparel comprising a substantiall watertightpocket of flexible material having at least a portion of its edgerovided with cups or air pockets formed from the edge portion of thepocket towar the inside and ada ted to contact with the body of thewearer, t e ribs defining said cups or air pockets being of varyingdepths to resent a contour at their projecting edge su stantiallyconforming to the contour of the portion of the body with which theycontact.

3. An article of bathing apparel comprlsing a main portion of elasticmaterial hav ng at least a portion of its ed e provided with cups or airpockets formed y ribs pro ect1ng from the edge portion of the pockettoward the insideand adapted to contact with the body ofthe wearer, theribs defining said cups or air pockets being of varying depth to presenta contour at their projecting edge substantially conforming to thecontour of v the portion of the body with which they contact.

4:. A bathing cap adapted to be used upon the head of the wearercomprising a mam body portion of elastic material having at least aportion of its edge provided with a row of cups or air pockets, a secondrow of cups or air pockets inwardly spaced from said first mentionedrow, and with said first mentioned row, forming a groove to trap anysubstance which would penetrate the outer row of cups, the portion ofthe material defining the cups or air pockets which contact with thehead of the wearer being of reduced area.

5. An article of bathin apparel comprising a substantially water tlghtpocket of flexible material having at least a portion ofits edgeprovided with cups or air ockets formed by ribs projecting from the e 5eportion of the pocket toward the insi e and adapted to contact with thebody of the wearer, the ribs defining said cups or air pockets being ofvarying depth to resent a contour at their projecting edge su stantiaLly conforming to the contour of the portion of the body with which they.contact, said ribs having the portions which. contact with the body ofreduced area.

In testimon whereof I aflix my si ature.

' HOMAS J. HOWL D.

